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EPulsive Review: Electrical Muscle Stimulation London

Electrical Muscle Stimulation London

If you love sweating it out in group fitness classes and value your workouts for the challenge and mental release too, then you might be better off sticking with your gym membership. But if you drag yourself to the gym purely to reap aesthetic results or if you want all the strength with a lot less of the work than EPulsive could be the solution for you.

During the workout, the electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) manipulates muscles through a special vest, that bypasses the nervous system, which usually controls muscle contraction resulting in 98% muscle engagement, this is apparent when your regular air squats and dumbbell-less tricep extensions suddenly become challenging.

The system works more deeply into the muscles than traditional resistance training allowing for a greater range of motion, as you’re not working against gravity like you are when using weights. Progress is achieved by increasing the EMS ranges as you adapt and, due to the intensity, only a couple of sessions a week are needed to see results.

It sounds a little scary and ever-so-slightly gimmicky, but the EMS system has been used by physiotherapists and athletes for years and is completely safe. Although the buzzing, pummelling, and flickering is odd at first until you get used to the feeling of the electrical impulses taking over.

EPulsive’s main attraction is it purports to provide the equivalent of a 6-hour conventional workout in just 20 minutes – after my 10-minute cardio and 10-minute strength-based stint in the vest, I can confirm this claim probably isn’t quite as implausible as it sounds.

The system is also portable, meaning the EPulsive personal trainers rock up at your door, and the workout can be done in your home, office, or even at your hotel – another huge draw for the time-poor, which explains why a large section of the brand’s clients are busy city workers. Indeed, at £60 per session, EPulsive attracts a high-end crowd, with clients including the Ecclestones, Rosie Fortescue and Louise Thompson.

For the two days following my session, my ab and butt DOMS were raging and the reality that I was feeling the burn from muscle groups I hadn’t even consciously worked (lat shredz without the labour of pull ups?! Sign me up) had me mentally calculating how many 20 minute sessions I could squeeze out of my salary before I’d have to move back in with my parents…